STARKVILLE – For the only time this October, Mississippi State football will take the field in Davis Wade Stadium as No. 2 LSU comes calling for a 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday kickoff as part of the Bulldogs’ “White Out” Game. Head coach Joe Moorhead previewed the CBS televised contest at his weekly press conference on Monday.
Below are quotes from Moorhead’s press conference:
Opening Statement
“Recapping the Tennessee game: entering the week, we talked to the team about the three things that were necessary to win the game, and that was preparation, physicality and precision. We said, to win a road SEC game in a challenging environment, and none of those things happened. They didn't. We talk to our kids all the time about the differences between reasons and excuses, and at the end of the day there is no excuse. We were out-coached, we were out-played - with 13 days to prepare. We need to, we can, and we will do better, because our program and our fans deserve it.
“As the head coach, that is my responsibility to make sure that happens. It falls squarely on my shoulders. This game and coaching in the SEC for about a year and a half now, in a lot of ways has been a humbling experience. I don't think you get to the point where I am without a certain level of success and a certain level of confidence, but this game and the SEC has a way of keeping you honest. If you look at this week with our game and across the board, with South Carolina beating Georgia and some of the other things that happened, Texas A&M being 3-3 and Kentucky coming off a 10-win season [in 2018] and being 3-3, the margin of error in this conference is small. That is something that on a daily basis that I am learning from and getting better, when you are coaching against the best of the best on a weekly basis.
"Tyler [Horka] early last week asked me a very pointed questions about the criticism and some of the outside noise. I think it was more specific to the Auburn game than it was an overall critique on the direction of the program, which is why I think Tyler is a good young aspiring writer. It is a question designed to elicit an emotional response from me, because he understands my competitiveness and how those things knife at you. I made a tongue and cheek remark in that I said it wasn't going to affect my approach, because it doesn't, but at the end of the day, the people who know me best in this world, they do know that I am a people pleaser. Nothing means more to me than to bring a consistently successful, championship-level program to Mississippi State. Every waking moment of my life that I am not with my family is spent is utilized in an effort to make it happen. That is what makes losing games so difficult, because of the investment. It is not just the losses, it crushes your soul. You never get over it, but you learn to live with it. There may be people who watch the game and they get made and deservingly point out some things and then go about their day; cut their grass, go to church, go out to have a meal and go on to their job. For us, it festers, and I take the responsibility of running this program and [representing] the 120 student-athletes, 40 staff members, our students, our administrators, our faculty members and our great fans very seriously, and treat it with a sacred respect. I am doing that with the absolute best of my ability.
"I am a man of God, and I do believe that I was led to this path at Mississippi State over other opportunities to achieve great things. I remain steadfast in my belief that we are going to do it. I still have unbelievable support from my parents back home in Pittsburgh, my brothers and sisters - my brother lives in Minneapolis. They are rocking the maroon and white, in Western Pennsylvania and in Minneapolis. Then my wonderful wife and kids, who are part of the Starkville Public School system. You talk about investment, my daughter is down on the field after the game with me and she is crying because she is upset; No. 1 because she understands football and what Mississippi State means to her and what it means to me, and to have to stand there on the field and have to console your 18-year-old, freshman daughter because she is crying, not only [because of the loss], but you hear a few fans as she is walking out of the stadium telling her that her dad sucks. They were right, on that day I did suck, but that is part of it. The support you get from your family is everything. It certainly hurts my wife, my boys and [my daughter], because they play a huge part in all of this.
"Our coaches, our players, our administrators, our boosters, our fans, our recruits, I cannot tell you the number of times in the past three days that I have gotten a text, I've gotten an e-mail or a DM from Strange Brew Coffeehouse with an interesting GIF of support...from ex-players, from people on campus, and particularly our recruits that are committed. I didn't have to reach out to some of them, because by the time I got back to my phone [after the game], on the way home, [with messages that said,] 'Coach Moorhead, we know you are a great coach. We know you got this, just keep plugging away.'
"I have talked to you guys about how I communicate with our recruits and their families on a daily basis. I sent a post game text message out to all of them yesterday and within five minutes there were 15 responses. The message of it was, that it is not apparent to people right away, because we live in an instant gratification society, but it takes time to build things special. While the process is occurring, you sometimes can't see the forest through the trees. It takes time and space to gain perspective. [The responses from the recruits’ parents were about] We believe in what you are doing and see the long-term vision and couldn't be more proud of our son to be a part of this process.
"It takes time to build special things, I know it is obviously not apparent with our performance on the field last week and against Auburn, but from a long-term [view], I couldn't be more excited. I know for a fact that as I stand here under the can and will and is going to happen.
“Our Student-Athletes of the Week for this past week were Tim Washington and Stewart Reese. From an injury standpoint, that is kind of the same guys, so if you have any questions on anyone specific I can get to that.
“We are certainly looking forward to the LSU game. It is a white out game, so we do encourage the greatest fan base in the country to wear all white. A lot of events on campus this week, including SEC Nation, which will be here Saturday, and it is our only home game in the month of October.
"Moving on to this LSU squad, there is a lot to talk about there. Coach [Orgeron] is one of my favorites and is 31-9 at LSU and 47-36 for his career. [This season he is] 6-0 and No. 2 in the country, presiding over a top-25 defense and a record-setting offense. They beat No. 7 Florida at home last week by 14, which was their 24th double-digit win with him as LSU's head coach.
"The offense is coordinated by Steve Ensminger, a coaching veteran, and Joe Brady is the passing game coordinator. A spread/RPO heavy, vertical passing game [system]. [LSU is averaging] 52 points and 561 yards [of total offense]. They are 34-of-34 in red zone scoring opportunities, led by Joe Burrow, the transfer from Ohio State, who has 2,100 yards [passing], 25 touchdowns and three interceptions, and is completing 80 percent of his passes. Obviously, a guy who is in tremendous consideration for the Heisman Trophy. Clyde Edwards-Helaire has almost 500 yards rushing and seven touchdowns. Then, the two receivers, Ja'Marr Chase & Justin Jefferson, both over 500 yards and guys that will be playing on Sundays someday.
"Dave Aranda is one of the best defensive coordinators in the country in doing what he does. [Allowing] 316 total yards per game, which is 25th in the country, and just 91 rushing yards [per game], which is 13th in the country. [K'Lavon Chaisson] is kind of their rush linebacker, was in for a few games, was hurt and then came back. [Chaisson] has 19 tackles, four for a loss and two sacks. You watch him rushing the passer at the end of that Florida game and he is hell on wheels. He can get after the passer, he can play the run and is very dynamic. Linebacker Jacob Phillips has 44 tackles, three for a loss and a forced fumble. He is leading the team [in tackles]. Then, Grant Delpit, a consensus All-American, is going to be one of the top draft picks in the [NFL Draft] when he comes out.
"Greg McMahon is there specials teams coordinator. They don't get too fancy with it. Edwards-Helaire, Derek Stingley Jr. and Avery Atkins are the returners and the kickers. They use their athleticism, their speed and their physicality. They don't try to mix it up too much, they are simple in what they do, and they get after it.
"As always, in this league, in this conference, you have the No. 1 team in the country on our side [of the division], you have the No. 2 team in the country on our side, and I think you have three more in the top 10. So, when I talk about the margin of error being small on a weekly basis, it is about negligible this week, because there is no margin of error because of the way [LSU] is playing. We need to do a really good job game planning, we need to do a great job practicing, and we have to call a great game and our kids have to execute at a high level to have an opportunity to beat a team of this caliber."
Q: We spoke postgame about the run game breakdowns, what went wrong on the offensive line against Tennessee?
JM: “We did something a little different [on Sunday this week]. In postgame film review, I generally go through the goals and pick out about five positive plays and five plays where we need to improve. Then, we go on. They watch the rest with their position coaches. [This week] I ripped through about 35 plays with all the kids in the same room. Sometimes as a running back, you only hear the running back corrections and don't know what else is happening on the field. I want to say that there were some schematic things we could have done a little bit better. They didn't do anything out of the ordinary from what we had seen on tape. I think we have to play with a little more physicality and a little more strain and a little more finish. Going back and looking at a couple more things to get Kylin [Hill] on the perimeter, probably would have been something that if I was pointing a thumb back at myself we could have done a little bit better."
Q: How do you approach the quarterback situation this week? Can you announce a starter at this point?
JM: “Garrett [Shrader] is going to start. Tommy [Stevens] is going to back him up. Based on what we have seen the past few weeks with both guys dealing with injuries, Garrett leading us to the win over Kentucky, and he came in at the end of the Auburn game to provide us a spark, and kind of did the same thing at Tennessee. Tommy is still not completely over some of his things right now. We just feel like Garrett has been playing and moving the ball well. He gives us a great shot."
Q: How much of the running game issues have been related to the inconsistent passing game the last two games?
JM: “That is a small part of it. [Kylin Hill] is still over 600 yards and still averaging over 100 yards per game. The last two games have not been up to standard but that is going to happen. There were games at Penn State, where we had arguably the best player in the country, defensive would do some unique things to keep the cap down. The difference was when that was happening, we were able to create explosive plays down the field with the pass game. That is something I have talked about in the past that when they are bottling up the run game, we have to find a way to take advantage of it and move the ball and creating points in other areas. We had been doing that earlier in the year and we had some shots down the field [at Tennessee], and we just weren't able to take advantage of it during the game."
Q: Is there any effort to getting Isaiah Zuber involved a little more?
JM: “Isaiah [Zuber] and I talked about it at team dinner yesterday. When you go back and look at the film, there was a dig route thrown to him on third down that we threw a little bit low and his route could have been a little more defined. Another opportunity where the common person wouldn't see it, but it was an RPO handed off to Kylin [Hill] where the corner knifed in and we were supposed to throw a glance route to him, and he would have been wide open down field. That was one of the plays we reviewed. We look at the total number of snaps. He is third behind Osirus [Mitchell] and Deddrick [Thomas] in terms of plays on the field but the other thing is the inconsistency not of the performance, but who has been at quarterback and having some of those guys rotate around. The short answer is we want to get Isaiah involved but we also want to get the other guys cranked up. But, yes, he and I have had that talk. We are making our best efforts that there are plays not just going to him, but to his position."
Q: You began the game with an ill-advised kickoff return and then the missed field goal at the end. Is there anything you can point your finger to with the special teams miscues?
JM: “It was good to get the 51-yard field goal, that was good. I thought our punt and our coverage was better, but certainly the discussion we had with that kickoff, I think it may have caught our guys by surprise. All week we had talked about there had not been a returned kickoff. We wanted to fair catch anything between the five and the one-yard line, so we have to communicate better there. That last field goal, you put it in there, and you have a chance to on-sides, but we certainly need more consistency.”
Q: You mentioned LSU’s Joe Burrow being a Heisman Trophy type player. What have you seen in his development since getting to LSU?
JM: “I think he played well last year. I think he is playing at a completely different level this year. Obviously, with the new system they are running and some of the things that he is able to do; making quick reads, making quick throws and the receivers he is throwing to, I think you've seen him elevate his game in a year’s span and take it to a new level. You always knew he was talented coming out of Ohio State and coming down here. I think with what they are asking him to do now fits his skill set very well.”
Q: With Garrett Shrader now the starter, how do you change your script as a play caller?
JM: “One of the things we have charted is a new offensive goal of first drive score, whether it be a field goal or a touchdown. I think out of six we have done it two or three with a touchdown or field goal and we have not in the past few weeks. The first call of the game, I look back and took a look at that because they brought edge pressure against that bunch formation that they had not shown all year and we were not able to block that guy that tackled Kylin [Hill]. As you go through play by play, is it a call where the kid does not have a chance for success based on what it is or how they are playing it or is it a call where you are giving yourself an opportunity and there's a lack of execution. As we went through all of those plays, we talk about as coaches us taking accountability and making sure we are calling the plays that gives them an opportunity, and when that happens, we have to practice it enough time not so that they get it right, but so that they cannot get it wrong. I think it is probably a combination of both things, but it is something with the opening scripts that we have run over the years that have been pretty good.”
Q: We talked a lot about heart and determination with Garrett Shrader. He came into the postgame media room with a boot, so what does that say about his determination to help this team?
JM: “I have kind of had it in my head for the past three years that he was going to be a guy that is going to be able to lead whatever program he goes to, to great things. I think from the time he has stepped on the field, to the helicopter run, to everything that he does on a daily basis in terms of competitiveness and preparation, and quite frankly performance, has earned the respect of his teammates. I'm sure the question was asked based on how Tommy [Stevens] played in the first half and how Garrett came in and moved the ball a little bit, why didn't Garrett start? As you saw from him throughout the portion of the week, neither were completely healthy and Tommy was healthier, and Garrett progressed as the week went on. I had the conversation with him on Thursday or Friday where he was at and by the time we got to Saturday he felt good that he could go. It hadn't been the case leading up to that during the week."
Q: Can you talk about Deke Adams and what you have seen from his defensive line unit?
JM: “A Meridian native, means a lot for him to be home in the state of Mississippi. I think what you are seeing from him is the ends. I think Chauncey [Rivers] played his best game of the year. I thought we did some really nice things. Fletcher [Adams] and Marquiss [Spencer] are developing but I think the biggest thing has been those young interior defensive linemen. I think Fabien [Lovett] played his best game of the year this past Saturday. We were fortunate to have [Lee] Autry this week so I think he did a nice job and [Jaden] Crumedy, Cameron [Young] and we are developing Nathan Pickering, as well, in addition to some of those other guys. He did not inherit a group with four returning starters and three draft picks. He inherited a group that lacked overall experience and needed to be developed. I think he is doing a good job along those lines.”
Q: What has been the issue with the way the teams plays on the road and do you think those can be fixed?
JM: I would not necessarily attribute it to us being on the road, obviously Neyland Stadium is kind of a historic place and the fans had it cranked up a little bit. More than anything we talk about controlling the controllable and a venue is not one of them. I think it is more of an us thing than a where we are thing.”
Q: How did you communicate the news about the starting quarterback to Tommy Stevens after all he has been through?
JM: “Coach Breiner communicated with Tommy what we were going to do, and I'll see him today and later tomorrow he swings bye. I think he understands that we have his best interests at heart. We talk all the time about decisions being made for the team first and the individual second, and Tommy is still going to play a viable role for us. I am sure he will be in a game for us again at some point. When you are not necessarily playing well sometimes, having played the position, it's good to step away for a little, gain a little perspective, watch from the sideline and kind of take a breath and hopefully helps to get him completely healed, as well. I think what we are doing is giving our team the best opportunity to succeed.”
Q: Are there issues with this team that you feel you cannot fix at this point in the season?
JM: “I think they are certain things you look at personnel wise and you are playing with who is on your roster and who is in your two deep. I think schematically you can always make changes to maximize the strengths and minimize the negatives. I don't think there is anything that necessarily cannot change or cannot be fixed. There are things that are more fixable than others. I would not say anything is beyond repair."
Q: Where does Keytaon Thompson stand in the quarterback conversation?
JM: “He is third right now, still behind Garrett [Shrader] and Tommy [Stevens]. Obviously, with those two guys playing and KT still having a redshirt year, we are being very mindful of that, as well. He has not played in one [game] yet and that plays a small part in it. If it were to the point where playing him would give us the best opportunity to win, we would and that is just not where we are right now.”
